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It is well documented that Australia has some seriously pricey homes, thanks to hot money washing into the country to take advantage of its burgeoning currency and strong trade relationship with China.

What is less well known, and has been revealed in a survey by US consultancy Demographia, is that New Zealand real estate is less affordable than Australia’s, based on a comparison of house prices with median income. Housing in major Kiwi urban centres now stands at 6.7 times gross median income, compared to 6.5 times in Australia.

Hong Kong is the world’s costliest property market, according to Demographia. That is understandable, as Hong Kong is tiny and crowded.

As this chart from Demographia shows, between 2004-2012, Kiwis’ dwellings have inched up to become more expensive, compared to incomes, than Aussie homes.

Strewth! Kiwis’ homes are less affordable than those in Australia (Demographia)

The problem New Zealand has is one of extremely low housing availability. As Kiwi Deputy Prime Minister Bill English writes in the forward to the Demographia survey: “It costs too much and takes too long to build a house in New Zealand.”

He explains that heavy bureaucracy around land planning means developers end up waiting too long to get permission to build homes. He adds that building materials cost more than in Australia. Land, he says, has become “artificially scarce,” by “regulation that locks up land for development.”

While that is English’s view, Kiwis are deeply divided on why land in this country where it so plentiful has become extremely expensive. Developers and right wing politicians blame a bureaucracy that is too concerned with environmental protection. The country’s opposition Labour Party says the government has not pursued enough affordable housing policies.